Perpetual Ruminations

Thursday

I meant to get in here yesterday but ran out of time. It's interesting how intentions go, while the intent itself doesn't.

I tried something different yesterday, and also on Tuesday. For the 52 Week Challenge, I wrote a fantasy story on mythology Tuesday, something new for me. I have written a few things that kind of border on fantasy, but this was crossed the border and headed deeper into fantasy writing.

It required much more research, planning, and work tying my fiction into the mythology that already exists. It was fun, even though it was different than how I normally write. My typical style is kind of like a spider spinning a web.
I get an idea to write about, sometimes it's the beginning, more often it's the ending, and work off of it until the whole web is constructed. It still requires planning and research, but it's also kind of by the seat of my pants; more spontaneous.

Yesterday was another journey into new territory, I wrote an entry for The Writer's Cramp -- a western. This was a first for me, but very fun. The difficult part was to keep my word count under a thousand words. By the time I ended I was slightly over, but it wasn't too difficult to cut back a lot of filler words and rephrase a few lines to get it within requirements. I'm quite pleased with the tale I wove. If you enjoy westerns and humor, you will enjoy this short piece and can find it at:

Duck  (E) Duck comes to town, there goes the town. #2055932 by tj-turkey-jobble-jobble-hard-J

I haven't seen the winner yet, but even if it doesn't win, it was fun and an new experience that may open my writing into another genre. As they say, time alone will tell.

The most exciting thing happening for me is all the writing I've gotten done in the last five weeks. With the 52 Week Challenge, I have to write a story a week on image prompts. Some have come easily, other's I've had to work to pull something out, but the reward is, I'm writing more now than I have since college. It's exciting and I'm building a folder of stories, some of which have the potential to become more than just short stories, possibly even novels.

One in particular is a spin off an older story I wrote but never finished. I had a great start, but the second and third chapters seemed to kind of taper off and I wasn't happy with them. The prompt was tough to write on, but then I an idea came to me using characters from that other story. It took a new direction and I didn't realize it until I finished, but it would make a terrific ending to that old story. It will require some work, of course, to fill in the middle, and it may never reach novel length, but it will make a great story.

The only problem I have found so far, is my shoulders and arms are sore from all they typing I've been doing. Seems I've gotten a little out of shape when it comes to using a keyboard. Oh well, it's getting better with each new item I write. I'm building up my writing muscles while giving my brain a great workout in creativity and imagination, and I'm having a lot of fun doing it.